Yeah, He Won, but He Was Up Against a Deeply Flawed Candidate

“I’m skeptical. The odds are that Mamdani’s victory is actually less significant than you think.” — Ross Douthat,New York Times

I was as surprised …

“I’m skeptical. The odds are that Mamdani’s victory is actually less significant than you think.” — Ross Douthat,New York Times

I was as surprised as anyone about the election results. The polls were a little too unified, so obviously, I assumed it was a conspiracy. But I now have to accept reality. He will be our next mayor. But before we jump to any conclusions about what this means for the future of the party, let’s remember: He was up against a deeply flawed candidate.

His opponent was universally despised. And that’s our bad. But how could we have known that voters were tired of old sexual predators? Still, with the benefit of hindsight, we acknowledge that we should have run a more pleasant and authentic candidate. Or at least, someone we could make authentic with enough media training.

We shouldn’t try to generalize his victory to a national stage. New York City is not America. In fact, it’s barely in America. Look at the map, it’s super close to the edge. And who’s to say voters in Arizona want affordable housing? They’re cowboys, they live off their cows. We don’t want to make any quick changes.

No one actually likes him. They just hate the other guy. That’s the whole premise of Hinge. If you see enough men holding fish, you settle.

It’s not his victory; it’s about his horrible opponent. Even the consultants we hired weren’t enough to fix such a flawed candidate. And the solution is obvious: We need more expensive consultants.

Sure, his policies appealed to an overwhelming percentage of voters. But let’s not pretend that the few who opposed his policies don’t matter. Multi-homeowners have feelings too.

I mean, he barely got 50 percent of the vote. That’s underperforming compared to past mayoral elections, in other cities, where there were only two candidates.

In normal times, against a normal candidate, we have no evidence that picking a friendly, relatable, likable candidate without a history of sexual abuse will work. Let’s not read too much into it.

The most important lesson we can learn is that sometimes you shouldn’t try to learn a lesson.

Look, he won only because his supporters are chronically online. Real voters—the ones who exist and therefore matter—don’t have time to “read about policies” or “know what their representatives are doing.” They’re busy, working three jobs to afford rent, which isn’t conducive to civic engagement, and that’s exactly why we shouldn’t change anything about anything. No one actually wants their rent frozen.

By doing things voters wanted, he set unrealistic expectations. Soon, voters will expect ALL politicians to represent their interests. Then where will we be?

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